TALLINN, Estonia—As strong demand for engine quick-turn services and hospital shop visits continues, Estonia-based Magnetic Group is actively looking to build a larger engine shop at its Tallinn home base, with the tender for the expanded facility currently ongoing.
Since setting up its designated engine MRO business in 2021 to service CFM International CFM56 family engines, demand for quick-turn services has grown significantly to the point where CEO Risto Maeots believes Magnetic has hit a ceiling in its current setting. It currently operates a five-bay engine shop but has managed to accommodate seven through reconfigurations. Maeots says Magnetic wants to be able to accommodate 12 engines repair bays on-site in Tallinn.
In the future, Maeots says the company plans to expand its hospital shop capabilities to the newer CFM Leap engine, with the first services related to fuel nozzle replacement work for the Leap engine family. CFM issued an airworthiness directive last year mandating the fixes after the discovery of fuel nozzle issues on Leap 1A and 1B engines. Magnetic was approached by the manufacturer and asked to help with the fuel nozzle replacement program.
“We’re putting together a mobile team that will go into different places to replace the fuel nozzle,” he says. After dialogue with CFM joint venture partner Safran, Maeots says Magnetic was asked to consider adding Leap repair services to deal with the growing number of shop visits for the 1A and 1B variants, which power Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX family aircraft, respectively. Maeots adds that the company is currently exploring funding options to get investment in Leap tooling to ramp up its capabilities in the shop.
Manpower growth is expected as the engine business also expands. Currently, Magnetic employs around 30 people in its engine division but Maeots says the company is looking to more than double this figure to around 65 people.
Meanwhile, the wheels and brakes side of the business could eventually be moved closer to Central Europe where more activity is taking place. Maeots cites Poland as a potential location for this long-term, given its cooperation for wheels and brakes repair with flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines.
“Nowadays it’s not about operating a shop anymore but instead whether you are able to offer pooling services,” he says. “It’s possible to repair anywhere but having the money to own the pooling is the key; the spare parts business is the same,” he says. “It’s about having the ability to buy a [large] number of wheels and brakes and position them [in] the locations where the customer wants them.”
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